Attendance Matters
As the program head of our student success department, my colleagues and I spend a lot of time trying to engage students who are habitually absent from school, but our efforts seem to have little impact and, as a colleague recently suggested to me, we may be contributing to the problem.
According to attendanceworks.org, students who miss on average 2 - 3 school days per month are likely to struggle academically. In a semestered school like St. Mary's that amounts to 10 - 15 school days per semester or 20 - 30 days per school year. Based on our current rate of absenteeism, by the end of this school year we know that hundreds of students will miss more than 20 school days.
In a school with nearly 2,000 students and more than 100 staff, I know that this issue is not just one department's problem. It's a complex school/student/parent problem, involving mental health, socioeconomics, ethnicity, peer groups, etc. As a result, I think we need to have a dialogue that includes students, parents and teachers.
How do we engage students who are habitually absent, along with their parents and teachers, to participate in finding a solution?
We know that the reasons for missed school time are numerous: school activities, vacation, illness, bereavement, mental health, bullying, failure and truancy; however, regardless of the reason the end result is the same: missed class time. As a colleague of mine pointed out, part of the attendance problem may be the result of our own doing. Like most schools, we have embraced the use of technology to improve teaching and learning; however, tools like Google Classroom and D2L, which allow teachers to post online announcements and assignments, make it easier for students who miss class time to access course materials and complete work. For students who are occasionally absent, these tools are valuable resources that support learning. The problem, however, is that these tools enable students to complete the required work without going to class.
If a student can be absent from class more than 10 times during a semester and still earn the credit, how important is class time? How do we measure learning? Just through assignments and tests?
Some teachers, administrators and parents believe -- and, at times, I do too -- that we need to go back to discipline strategies that were used in the 80s and 90s (some might suggest that we need to go even further back in time!). When I went to high school in the early 90s, if a student missed 16 classes, they failed the course. There was no such thing as credit rescue or credit recovery -- if you missed too much class time, you couldn't earn the credit. More recently, I've heard people at my school talk about the need for a supervised lunch study hall, which students would be assigned to if they are truant from class; and for those who do not show up to study hall, they would be suspended. In the US and in parts of Europe, students and parents can be fined or face jail time if the child is chronically truant from school. The problem with all of these strategies is that none of them have a lasting impact and in some cases tougher penalties may compound problems, especially for poor families.
If past practices are not an option, what can we do differently to improve attendance?
Moving forward, I will examine our attendance data and consider the following:
- What are the reasons for absences?
- What is the correlation between absences and credits failed versus credits earned?
- Is there are correlation between absences and socioeconomic status?
- What is our process for identifying and supporting students and their families?
I have no doubt that there are other questions and ideas that I haven't thought about or perhaps you have opposing thoughts to mine. I'd appreciate your input. Please comment below.
Thanks to Dawn Butson (@DL_Buts) for her inspiration to follow George Couros' (@gcouros) advice to Drop Everything And Reflect (DEAR).
You are asking hard and thought provoking questions! How important is class time? It doesn’t sound like it is too important to many of these students. What can you do? Don’t think back to old discipline strategies, think innovatively and transform the learning! These students need to be empowered and have ownership of their learning. I highly recommend an inspirational book called “Empower” by John Spencer and AJ Juliani. Your post made me think of this quote from the book: “We don’t have to change the entire system in order to give our students a different experience. Instead, we only need to change one thing: We need to shift our mindset from compliance (students must follow our rules) and engagement (getting kids excited about our chosen content, curriculum, and activities) to empowerment.” Where does St. Mary’s sit along the continuum of compliance to engagement to empowerment? Learning should be measured on the process, not just the products of assignments and tests. I can see why the students don’t need to be there if this is the current assessment methods. Using assessment throughout the learning cycle gives students ownership and purpose. Self-assessments, reflections, and conferences combined with authentic feedback is how learning should be measured. Jamie, get the “Empower” book in the hands of as many teachers as you can to start the shift towards a learner centered environment and see the attention and commitment that these students give to learning.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, and definitely an issue that needs to be addressed. I like where Dawn is going with this...being innovative - progressive, authentic, engaging. This issue may not be with the students (as already insinuated - although it clearly affects them), but rather with us, the educators/adults - as far as our methods of instruction and our mindsets are concerned. I also wonder whether the importance of attendance needs to be addressed earlier - perhaps, in Grades 7 and 8? Speaking to students about the importance of schooling at this age could make a difference - being proactive. Just a thought. Anyway, there is clearly a lack of importance/significance of schooling in some of our students' minds. Aspects that educators may need to consider include differentiation, equity and motivation to ensure that all students receive a holistic education. One last thought, are there surveys (perhaps a Google Form) that you could create and give to those students who struggle to attend school regularly? Anyway, a very necessary blog and one that has to be heavily considered if we are to correct this very concerning issue.
ReplyDeleteHey Jamie. I only now figured out how to see this as a blog - and comment on it! You do ask some pretty thought-provoking questions. I think the old adage "If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem" applies here. Teacher engagement leads to student engagement and when students feel that their teachers connect with and care for them, they are more likely to buy into what their teachers are "selling." I was discussing this very issue with an EA student that is doing a placement in my class. He successfully graduated from University and returned to school to change his career. He told me he rarely attended class as everything is posted online and there is nothing his teachers can not test him on that is not available there. I asked him about the value of informal dialogue and conversation between peers and the teachers and he said he didn't see any point in it. I find this very disconcerting and see it mirrored in our schools as well. When teachers fail to engage the students in front of them, the students check themselves out. I do realize that there are many issues involved and students miss school for several, often complicated reasons. Teachers could dance a jig or hand out candy, and many students would continue to skip. When I taught credit recovery and later Alternative Learning, there was no end to the unexplained absences and critical issues the students were experiencing. Mental Health was a common issue as well as mounting anxiety. I found that by acting as a supportive, non-judgemental stable adult, was enough for some of our students. I wish you well in your search for answers. This is no easy journey.
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